Chicken-coop.



Wine ses I y 5% T. J. ELSTON.

CHICKEN COOP.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 23, 1910.

985,333. Patented Feb. 28, 1911.

ven or Attorneys TE S TS PATEN I FFIQE.

THOMAS J; ELS'ION, OF BEDFORD, INDIANA.

CHICKEN-COOP.

Application filed May 23, 1910.

. particularly to means whereby overcrowding of the poultry is prevented. This result is attained by utilizing a structure the door of which is adapted to automatically close when poultry aggregating a predetermined weight. have entered the structure.

of this character which will keep the poultry housed until the exit has been opened manui i It will be apparent. therefore, that by proally.

A. further object is to provide a closure which will not injure the chickens should it come into contact with them wlnle the coop is, being closed.

lVith these and other objects in view the 1 invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings the pre- 1 ferrcd form of the invention has been shown.

In said d.awiug:Figure l is a perspective view of the device. parts thereof being broken away. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section therethrough 011 a reduced scale.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates the walls of the structure and the front wall has an opening therein'adapted to be closed by a. door 3 which is preferably hingedly mounted at the lower edge of the opening. A hinged top 4 may be employed for closing the top of the compartment formed by the walls and any suitable means being utilized for securing this top in closed. position.

A floor 5 is mounted to slide vertically between the walls of the structure and has corner standards or guides 6 extending there from and mounted to work within the angles formed by the walls.

Cords 7 are secured to the sides of the floor, preferably at the centers thereof and extend upwardly over supporting sheaves 8.

Specification of Letters Patent.

l I l l y l l floor a floor will move downwardly between the A further object is to provide a structure Patented Feb. 28, 1911.

Serial No. 563,006.

there being weights 9 attached to these cords and suspended thereby outside of the structure. Said weights serve to hold the floor normally above the bottom of the structure and close to the lower edge of the opening 2. The front standards 6 are connected near their upper ends by a closure strip 10 of fabric, this strip being normally located above the opening 2 so that poultry can pass freely to and from the compartment through the openings 2. When a suflicient number of chickens have assembled upon the o to overbalance the weights 9 said walls 1 and the closure strip 10 will be brought into position across the opening 2 and therefore prevent them from escaping.

viding a series of structures such as have been described, the poultry using the same will be separated into colonies and all danger of loss through sullt'oratiou. which often occurs where large numbers of chickens are permitted to crowd together, is eliminated. .\s shown in the drawings, ventilating openings 1.1 may be formed in the walls at any 1 points desired.

By extending the cords '7 outside of the structure they can be conveniently grasped for the purpose of elevating the floor 5 to allow the chickens to leave the coop by way of the opening 2.

As the closure strip 10 is formed of a fabric, it will not injure any chickens should it descend, upon them during the lowering of the floor 5.

Various changes can of course be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit. or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as defined. in the appended claim.

hat is claimed is A device of the class described including a structure having a door opening a door for closing the opening from the outside, a floor movably mounted within the structure. a flexible supplemental door movable with the floor for closing the opening when said floor is shifted downwardly to a predetermined position, a counter-balance outside of the structure, a flexible connection between the counter-balance and the floor for mainmy own, I have hereto aflixed my signature taining the floor normally elevated, said conin the presence of two Witnesses. nection constitutin means Whereb the floor r 1 r may be raised to its normal positiion While THOMAS ELSl carrying a load, and a door constituting the top of the structure.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as XVit-nesses JAMES D. MARTIN, CHARLES S. JACKSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

